Preventing cupping in green hard maple

I just purchased a chainsaw mill and plan to mill some maple from logs I’ve cut off my property. I’ve already had some milled by a local sawmill. He cut a few thick slabs for me for a coffee table. The rest he cut into 1×8s and they’ve warped pretty badly over the past month and a half while drying in the garage. It stays pretty humid here in west tn so I didn’t think it would be an issue. Now I’m worried that when I mill any more lumber it will warp while drying. What are some ways to minimize warping while drying fresh cut lumber? I only have maple logs right now but I will be cutting some white oak and hickory as well. Any suggestions are much appreciated.

Also try to saw the boards with the pith in the log level. Put your best grade and widest boards on the bottom of the sticker stack so the weight of the lower grade boards will help keep the best boards flat as they dry. Sometimes, though, you just get a log that will not behave.

Thanks for the tips guys. I have pretty much a free supply of 3/4” pvc conduit. Could I use that for stickers? I’m thinking on a flat surface and with all the weight rolling shouldn’t be a problem and mildew shouldn’t be a problem with the pvc.

This is a general rule of thumb. To keep lumber straight when drying sticker the material every 16 inches and add 100 pounds of ballast per square foot on top of the pile. This should keep that material nice and flat while drying. Also seal all end grain as soon as possible to help with splits